Following publication of the outcome of Canal & River Trust’s licence review consultation on 6th March, The Inland Waterways Association regrets that Canal & River Trust has failed to take the opportunity to produce a modern licensing system that addresses the problems it inherited on its creation in 2012.

IWA sees this as a missed opportunity to solve some of the issues caused by the current licensing system, and in particular the effect of the continuous cruising option introduced by the British Waterways Act 1995 as an alternative to having a home mooring. After spending a significant amount of resource on a major review and consultation, it is disappointing that so little has come of it.

The review does nothing to address two of IWA’s key concerns; the increasing use of widebeam boats on inappropriate waterways to the detriment of other waterways users, and ensuring that boaters without a home mooring cruise an appropriate distance. IWA will continue campaigning for these concerns to be resolved.

In response to the detail contained in Canal & River Trust proposals:

IWA is concerned that many boaters will face a significant increase in their licence fees within 2 years as a result of the changes to the prompt payment discount

IWA considers that a licence based on boat area (length x beam) would have been a fairer and simpler system rather than the proposed three width bands

IWA notes the loss of the 1 day visitor licence and considers that it should continue to be available online to encourage compliance by occasional users, eg of canoes and trailable boats, and to encourage more people to get afloat affordably.